His Darkest Hour
by Poli Bear
Summary: "This has gone far enough. For, I cannot allow you to do this. I'm coming for you." The Doctor's task is clear, his face set with grim determination. Lost though he is over the death of his Wife at The Doctor's hands, For cannot be allowed to re-write the occurances of the Time War. Its up to The Doctor to fight against his best friend, and win. Fourth in the Horizon Series
1. A Choice

**A/N: Hello FanFiction! Sorry it's been so long since I've uploaded, but school overtook my life! You know what that's like... But anyway I'm back now and I hope the long wait was worth it! :) Here is the final episode of this phenomenal three parter. Enjoy! :)**

**And don't forget; if you are a new reader to this series I strongly recommned going back and reading the first few episodes otherwise you'll be more lost than The Doctor at a party! :P Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and please please review! :D**

**P.S: Thanks to **Yousureneem **for reviewing :D I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I hope it continues to please :)**

His Darkest Hour

Chapter One: A Choice

"What!" I stormed into the main console room and onwards towards the doors. "How could you... How could you?"

"Alex let me explain!" The Doctor called as he ran into the room.

"Forget it Doctor! I knew you'd changed but I never imagined that much! How could you side with them!"

"You haven't seen what happens next yet!" The Doctor said, standing ontop of the stairs. I froze with my hand on the door handle. "Just see what happens next and if its not to your liking then I can just drop you home. But I wouldn't try to just storm out," he said jovially, a grin spreading across his face. "We're not exactly down the street."

I left the doors and walked back up to face The Doctor. "Fine. But you'd better have a very good reason for it."

"Its simple" The Doctor smiled as he lead me back to the interface. "I made a choice."

* * *

The Dalek was still talking but The Doctor didn't want to hear it.

"Shut up!" he yelled. The Dalek rocked back, stunned. "Thanks," he grinned, "silence is golden. But why is gold good?" he mused, "I've never liked it myself... wrong texture, but anyway," he strode off towards the blue doors, fishing the key from his pocket.

"What are you doing?"

"Leaving," The Doctor answered, not slowing his pace out of this mad-house.

"You see?" another warped voice rang, and The Doctor got the distinct impression that other Daleks had arrived, but he continued towards his TARDIS uncaring. "This was never going to work, we should have just killed him along with The False and their Advocate!"

"No!"The first Dalek cried, "We are more Time-Lord than anything! We are defective and we are no longer Dalek! We are more his breatherin than we are mindless machines and we cannot allow this to continue!" The Doctor paused at the door, key just about to slide into the lock. "We know our race. We know what will happen if we continue to fight. They will slaughter us all-"

"This is Skaro!" The second Dalek replied, The Doctor now realising that even this unusual social gathering had two sides, two courses of action. "We will create more! They may destroy us but we will never truly end!" Cries of "Exterminate" greeted this with glee.

The Doctor removed the key from the lock. He might have wanted to run, it would have pleased him to no end if he could just blast the entire planet back into the lock and have done with it... but he couldn't do it. He couldn't kill his friend again. He couldn't sacrifice For just to make it easier for himself. He was no Dalek.

"You won't survive," he said, the tone in his voice leaving no doubt about whether he believed that. "They are eons beyond what you are capable of, and they have so much knowledge of what is to come they managed to turn my best friend against me." He was walking now, purposefully, towards the second Dalek and watched as it shrunk away. "They will burn you, and break you and grind you into dust because to them you are a past they would rather forget! You are the deluded few that couldn't get it into your thick metal heads when to back down!"

"But we have taken down some of them, they are few in number and we are on the verge of victory!"

The Doctor laughed, spinning around to the rest of the group. "So you took down one, but what now? How many of you have they "exterminated"? You won't last much longer and your ancestors knew that! They weren't fighting their way back here to win the war, they were doing it to stop it from happening, to ensure they didn't lose. But that won't work, not now that me and my friend For are here! We're a real spanner in the works because we don't abide to your rules." He stopped and stared at the sea of light blue eyestalks. "You've already lost," he said, descreetly stepping backwards, "because I know how you feel. The burning, the hatred against what you are. It hurts doesn't it?"

He turned to the first Dalek, his face sombre. "I'm sorry for what For's done to you," he said, "I truly, truly am. None of this should have happened and I swear I will put this right."

"Doctor what are you-?" The Doctor didn't hang around to explain, he just dived backwards at the locked TARDIS doors. They opened and he collapsed inside as they swung shut behind him.

The Daleks had been so focused on their arguments they hadn't seen him unlock the TARDIS door. They also hadn't seen what else he'd fished from his pocket with the key, a small brown disc that he'd then fiddled with as he spoke, before attaching it to the second Dalek that had spoken to him.

The minature bomb exploded just as the TARDIS began to fade away, ripping the Daleks apart, their casings torn open by the initial force, metal creaking and snapping, unable to take the strain. The flesh inside boiled and shrivelled, the stone walls around them cracked and were blasted away, before what was left of the corrupted Daleks evaporated.

It was all over in a second.

* * *

Inside the TARDIS, The Doctor flung a switch and it hurtled away from the blast, leaving him safe for now, or so he thought.

The second it had landed The Doctor was thrown to his knees, his hands clutching his head as he yelled. He smashed his fist repeatedly against the floor, his breathing heavy, head pounding. He screamed again, a vein visibly pulsating above his brow as he dragged himself up the railing around the console, holding on for dear life until, finally he dropped from the railing and slipped from consiousness.


	2. With Friends Like These

**A/N: And Chapter Two is here! :) Now if you haven't read the other episode of this series then this opening might confuse you, so I would recommend going back to read them, but basically The Doctor and a friend are going into his memories and now they are taking a break as Alex can't figure out what just happened. (And since that explaination sucked... it might just be better to read the earlier episodes :P)**

**Also a massive thanks to whomever it was who gave a review. I don't mind getting anonymous (sp? :P) reviews that's a-okay with me :D I'm glad you've been enjoying the series and I will venture to make every episode better than the last :) Enjoy it and please review! :D**

His Darkest Hour

Chapter Two: With Friends Like These...

"Sorry," I groaned, pulling myself out of the cream chair near the doorway and pulling the switches he'd pointed at, " but my head hurts. Run me through it one more time?"

The Doctor's face re-appeared from the insides of a trunk, gripping something tightly and glaring at it as though daring it to try and hide from him again. He sighed deeply. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder how you lot manage in everyday life if you can't wrap that mind of your's around some basic Quantum mechanics."

"Yeah," I laughed, "because it's impossible to even have breakfast in the mornings without requiring some use of Quantum mechanics."

"You can't actually!" The Doctor said grinning widely. "You see-"

"Please Doctor," I pleaded, "my head is already hurting enough trying to figure out the space-time ball of wibbly-wobbly stuff. Don't make breakfast time a headache as well."

The Doctor slid beneath the console to fix the component in place. "Quite right I suppose. Who'd want a headache right after a long night's sleep, especially," his voice strained as he tried to force it in and then I heard a _clunk_ and the console seemed to grow brighter. He stood up to face me. "Especially with all the exploring that could be done!"

It was nice to take a break from the interface, it seemed that the deeper we delved into this story the harder the ride became. I wanted to know what The Doctor had found and why it needed all this information to protect others from it, but it seemed that The Doctor was very aware of the strains of his murky past. Still... "You know you haven't actually explained why you needed to blow those Daleks up Doctor. And why did you have what looked like a heart attack afterwards?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I have explained, twice actually, but you just haven't been listening Alex!" The exasperation in his voice just made me smile.

"What you mean all that mumbo-jumbo about "gravitic anomalisers" and "time-space pathways"? You might want to go just a _little_ bit slower this time."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, snapping a lever down and indicating I should probably take a seat again. "Right," he sighed, beginning his usual, confusing travel around the console, "You remember what For called me earlier?"

"A barly-humanoid traitor?" The Doctor winced.

"Not that no. Try again," he called from the other side of the console.

I had to think for a moment, because to be honest it had been the other insult that had really stuck with me, but then I remembered. "You mean the Weak's Enforcer?"

The Doctor triumphantly pressed a button and paused to say "that's the one!" before heading down beneath me to continue adding the weird looking part to the TARDIS. "The Weak was the name our Daleks had given the older versions of themselves-"

"And those older versions called them the False?"

"Ha-ha you're getting the hang of this Alex!" His voice bounced around the room, ringing from the underbelly with glee. He soon re-appeared and played with some more buttons.

"But what does that have to do with any of it?" The doctor sighed again.

"You'll see. It'll be easier if I just showed you."

* * *

The Doctor jerked awake, his head pulsing as his mind caught up with everything. "Ohhhhh my head! I hate a bad night's sleep!" He stood up, glaring at the TARDIS console. "Why aren't you _ever_ comfortable? For's TARDIS has grass!" Then he calmed down, whispered "sorry old girl" and slouched on the sofa, his head in his hands.

The Doctor who was watching this scene unfold beside me, said "Re-arranging a time stream, especially your own, is always dangerous, but I didn't have any choice." I opened my mouth to ask what he was on about but he just pointed to where he was slouched on the rather springy chair.

"Well," he muttered, standing up and heading over to the scanner, "time to call the neighbours." He clicked the dial three times, and an empty stone hall slowly faded into view. "For?" He said, before grinning slightly and muttering "You always did like a lie-in... For!"

A surprised grunt drifted through the receiver and then a strained noise as a man stood up and stretched heartily, his back to the screen. It took a moment for him to realise he was on the intercom. A look a shock and resentment filtered into the man's bright eyes, dulling them considerably as he realised where The Doctor was standing. "Doctor? What are you doing in that TARDIS! That's no longer your's to own." The Doctor smiled a bemused smile.

"This TARDIS is mine for along as she wants me For. And the reason I'm here? Well I'm done playing your game." For smiled back, but his wasn't as friendly.

"What game would that be, _Doctor_?" The Doctor transfered For's image to the main screen beside the front doors and walked up to the railings to lean on them.

"An Infinity Loop, For. You know, I found it strange that these Daleks were supposedly helping me and I found it stranger that you claimed I'd already sided with them. I just couldn't make it add up and then I found out that these particular Daleks had fought back from two centuries in the future to end this war now. But why?"

"Well I'd love for you to tell me Doctor." For's sneer extended, morphing into a sick grimace.

"Oh I will. It's because of what I was planning; to prohibit time-travel, to stop exactly that happening. But in doing so I would make this war unwinnable and the only way to win it would be to reingage time-travel, which they obviously did, so in trying to avert it I ended up creating it, as is the curse of knowing too much."

"Very good Doctor. You always were the best at talking nonsense. So you destroyed the only things left in the universe willing to help you, and stole your TARDIS back because you thought that would save the day?"

"Yes." The Doctor murmered, avoiding For's gaze. "I restructured this time line because I'm not just going to give up. I can't allow you to resurrect never-ending years of endless suffering for just one person."

"This isn't just for one person Doctor!" For seemed outraged, but his voice didn't raise at all, which just seemed all the more threatening. "This is for everyone of our friends, for every member of our families, for our people that you butchered in cold blood! _This_ is so that we can win this war together, cleanly and fairly and not with the mass genecide of anyone I ever loved!" A tear rolled down For's cheek, which he attempted to wipe away descreetly.

The Doctor seemed to do the same, looking away for a few seconds before addressing For once again. "I'm sorry For but to be brutally honest you are young and you don't know what you're doing. I wish, I truly wish with both my hearts that I could agree with you, that we really could win it with one more try but... it's impossible."

For sniffed, glaring at his old friend with contempt burning in his eyes. "I will never give up on my race Doctor. I never thought I'd see the day when the friend I'd idolized gave up on everything close to his hearts."

The Doctor stood up, crying in rebellious tones against the truth that For was forcing him to face. "If you won't listen then there is nothing else for it! This has gone far enough! For, I cannot allow you to do this. I'm coming for you, and you'd better be ready, because this time I'm not holding back! The Time War must _never _be allowed to rage again, for everyone else in this universe!" He slammed his hand down onto the console behind him and watched the screen blink off.

He stood panting there for a moment, his body stiff, his hand frozen. Then he began to run around the console, furiously pounding every button within reach, but no matter how much he roared, stamped and fumed, he couldn't disguise the tears that escaped from his carefully constructed mask and streamed freely down his face.


	3. A New Plan

**A/N****: Hey there guys! :) Here's the third chapter for "His Darkest Hour", which I hope stands up to your expectations :) Some parts might not make sense right now but that's the magic of Doctor Who. Not everything is given to you straight away :P**

**I also wanted to say that I've made a general forum for anything you might want to say to me/ask me (whether that be a suggestion or a comment on my writing style or something I need to improve or anything like that :P) I thought it would be a good idea because there isn't really much opportunity to talk directly to writers on FF so I set it up :) Let me know what you think about it, the link is on my profile page and I'll try to reply as soon as I can :D**

**Apart from that, enjoy this next chapter and dont' forget to review! :)**

His Darkest Hour

Chapter Three: A New Plan

To be honest, The Doctor was in a bit of a pickle. He'd thought that by regaining ownership of his TARDIS and not allowing events to play out in the same way again he'd put a stop to all this. After all, it was the conglomeration between his and For's TARDISes-

_I _like_ that word! Conglomeration. Congloooomeratioon._

...

_Oh. Sorry. Carry on._

Anyway, it was the _pairing_ between his and For's TARDISes that had been used to start all this, so surely now he had his back everything would revert to how it should be?

But no. When the TARDIS re-materialized The Doctor found himself on the same rust-skied Skaro, with the same problems and the same enemies. "Why do all my friends turn on me?" The Doctor wondered aloud, leaning against the TARDIS. "What do I do wrong?"

He shook the feeling off, feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to save the whole of creation. He started to walk towards the exit of the smallish store cupboard (at least that was what it looked like) and peeked his head out of the door, which he then immediately withdrew, tightly sonicing the door shut.

Through the door he had seen rows and rows of conveyor-belts, all whiring and squeaking as they ran the half completed shell of their owners to the next stage of development. The Doctor cast an incredulous glace at the TARDIS, his fingers wrapped around his sonic like a vice, his only weapon against what stood out there. "Of all the places!" He hissed, his mind visibly whirring as he used his sonic to gently open the door an inch at a time.

He looked around, edging his head around the door frame slowly, eyes flickling left and right at alarming speeds. He heard a loud high pitched noise and immediate broke cover, running for a stone pillar close-by watching the door shut behind him. Then he realized it was just the converyor squeaking again. He willed his hearts to calm down.

Now that he was out of the cupboard, he could get a good look at gigantic room that towered high above him and seemed to continue for miles in either direction. The long, high room housed four conveyor belts, all of which were heading to The Doctor's right, towards what looked like a hastily constructed furnace. A chill ran down his spine. "Killing their own ancestors and melting them down for scrap? Daleks never change."

The Doctor decided that towards the furnace was not really where he wanted to go, so he took note of the equally high,well he couldn't really call them windows, in the walls that allowed Daleks to enter with ease for maintenance and worked his way up the room, moving from stone pillar to stone pillar. After about five minutes of tense creeping, with The Doctor squeezing his sonic tightly in both hands, he came upon a wrought iron door.

He walked up to it confidently, but then realizing there was no control panel he took a step back. "Always something good behind an impregnable door, that's what I always say."

Do you really always say that?

_Well yeah... when I have the good fortune to _find_ an impregnable door it's always the first thing that comes to mind._

The Doctor walked up to it again, running his sonic from one corner to the other, then paused to look at the readings. "Deadlock sealed. Of course it is." The Doctor sighed heavily and was about to consign the door as a lost cause when he noticed something. A small, hairline crack in the stone next to the door hinges. His eyes lit up with an idea, and then they positively glowed with inspiration as he ran towards the crack and pressed his sonic hard against it, ramping up the settings until you nearly had to cover your ears for the noise.

And then, when it seemed like this wasn't really going to do anything except give us all a major headache, the wall splintered, a loud snapping sound blasting over the screeching sonic as the hairline crack tore itself apart, exposing the hinges of the great door. Well, it would have, if dust wasn't now obscuring everything within reach. Deep within the fog there was an altogether unmanly "ah!"and then an echoing _slam _as the door crashed to the ground, The Doctor only just getting out of the way in time.

Much coughing and spluttering later and we could finally see what the door was hiding. The Doctor stood back up, adjusted his bow-tie and dusted himself off. "Just what I was looking for," he grinned, rubbing his hands together with anticipation. "Not what I'd originally planned" he muttered, stepping over the door and inspecting the masses of wires and buttons "but this should work perfectly."

* * *

Half an hour later and the TARDIS found herself rematerializing again, but this time in an entirely different cupboard, in an entirely different place. The Doctor stepped out, went "Ah. Wrong turning." and returned inside. He disappeared moments later.

* * *

The TARDIS soon found herself rematerializing yet _again_, but this time The Doctor seemed happy with his "choice" of destination.

_Hey!_

Sorry Doctor, but you do sometimes just turn up somewhere without having any intentions of doing so.

_It's the TARDIS! Blame here not me, she's the one really in control of where we end up!_

Well, whether it was The Doctor's piloting skills or the TARDIS', either way he found himself back on Skaro, in one of the hundreds of underground transport networks that the Daleks had crafted into the rock. He took a tentative step into the tunnel, leaving the TARDIS invisible in one of the alcoves that cut into the tunnel every so often, and then licked his finger, stuck it in the air and walked off to his right, his destination fixed firmly in his mind.

Now just to get there and try to find any clues about what For's machine was, and why it hadn't been affected by the temporal restructuring he'd just done. First stop, the research laboratory.


	4. Deja Vu

**A/N: Hey Guys! New chapter is up and this one is very important, as The Doctor discovers something that even he didn't see coming and it changes everything...**

**Also, just thought I'd let you know that I've put up my very first One Shot "A Friend Lost" and I'd love to hear your honest thoughts about it because I've never done one before :s**

**But get ready for a good one here and don't forget to favourite this, me, or just review! :D**

His Darkest Hour

Chapter Four: Deja-Vu

It didn't take long for The Doctor to reach the Research Lab, but getting in might take him a little bit longer, considering the great domed figures that stood guard on either side of the door. Or it would have, if The Doctor didn't have the most feared things he could hold in his hand, his screwdriver and a Jammie Dodger? Really?

_Ignore the Jammie Dodger, that was a mistake._

The Doctor making mistakes?

_We all make them Alex. Don't forget when we found the Kreeble's nest... I say don't go in there, it could be dangerous and what does the curious human do?_

Let's not talk about that. Back to the screwdriver... He raised it slowly, taking aim down the length of his arm at his target, but it wasn't the Daleks. He shrank back into the alcove, crouching and testing, activating the sonic again and again as if searching- "Just a litttle bit more" he urged, the cold stone pressing against his back as the sonic whined, straining to reach its target. The Doctor winced, any louder and those Drones would hear it, as he shrank back further, hearing one turn towards him, starting forwards to investigate the eiree sound.

But then the sonic finally found the connection it was looking for and The Doctor immediately shut it off for fear of being detected. He needn't have see, the connection he had been seeking was the one he had set up just moments before, deep behind a solid iron door.

The explosion shook the walls of to tunnel so hard great cracks started to form in the stone. Dust fell and coated both the Daleks, who had turned to each other, weapons flicking back and forth.

"The Weak have destroyed a Remedine Repository!" One said, its deep voice echoing through the space like thunder. "We must exterminate!"

"Exterminate!" The other agreed, and they started to glide away, before they initiated their hover fields and flew off down the tunnel.

The Doctor left the alcove, brushing dust off of his jacket and completely missing the fact it was covering his hair. "What do they mean the Weak? That was me." He muttered, slightly hurt that his handi-work had gone unnoticed yet again, but then he remembered why he was here and darted through the doorway the Drones had left unguarded.

The sight sickened him just as much as it had the first time he'd seen it, two once great machines reduced to only one purpose, dragging Skaro out of the Time-Lock and keeping it there for him and The For to fight upon. "Don't worry old girl," he whispered, stroking the lower console that he could only just recognize as his own, "You're safe now... so this" he waved generally at the monstrosity, "shouldn't really be here."

He began checking around, moving from one side of the console to the other, then scanning the memory banks that ran the length of the walls to see if they held any clues, but they didn't, they were just processing and reprocessing the command of "sustain", no clues as to why his little re-write hadn't worked.

The Doctor began to get frustrated, clutching his hair and roaring, "why does nothing make any sense!" Then he let go of his hair, stepped backwards and breathed deeply. "Okay Doctor," he muttered, "just think. What are you missing?"

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his chest and he collapsed to the ground, visibly shaking. "Ah! What?" His breathing was heavy as he clutched his chest. "Doctor, you're getting too old for this."

As he crouched there he heard the fighting that echoed high above him and the pounding of footsteps... as someone ran down the dark tunnel outside towards him. He heaved himself to his feet, still grasping at his chest as he threw himself between the memory banks and soniced the lights dark, leaning against the wall and willing his breathing to quiet down. He wouldn't stand a chance against For in this state.

The footsteps stopped suddenly outside and he heard the sound of For's sonic ring as he tried to break open the doors. Sweat fell in a bead down The Doctor's forehead and he let out a muffled yelp of pain, his hand covering his own mouth as another jolt of pain coursed through his chest.

And then the door slid open and the man stepped inside, looking around for The Doctor, who was willing himself to ignore yet another searing stab of pain that pushed him down the wall onto the floor. He chanced a look around the memory bank just as the man soniced the lights back on and watched him freeze, he himself rooted to the spot.

The man retreated until his back was flat against the steel door. "No! That's impossible!" The Doctor stared as his younger self soniced the door open, eyes still fixed on the two TARDISes before him and fell back through the door, closing it from the ground.

The Doctor dragged himself to his feet, stepping out from his hiding place and staggering for the door, leaning on the frame to watch himself run back up the corridor to try to save For. What was going on? He hadn't meant to come back here, back to the start of it all. No wonder the Drones had thought the Weak were the ones that had destroyed that Remedine Repositor, he technically hadn't destroyed them yet.

"But how?" he muttered to himself, leaning his head back against the door frame in an attempt to regain himself. "I meant to land six months after this, surely my piloting skills aren't _that_ bad?" And then, as he stood there still breathing deeply in and out even though he could feel no trace of the pains that had sparked through him he realised _exactly_ what was happening. It sent a cold feeling pulsing through his veins.

There was a reason his attempt to rewrite what had happened here hadn't worked, a very good and obvious reason that he couldn't believe he'd missed. It had been the last nail in the coffin, the last paradox that such a small space outside of the Time-Lock could handle.

The moment he'd tried to steal back his TARDIS and break the connection with the older Daleks, the walls of time around this world had begun to unravel and shrink... and it was collapsing so fast that it was even affecting him. Anymore of this and his entire nervous system would shut down, and he knew The For would be feeling the same things. Empires have ripped apart planets for Time-Lord DNA, and they could soon leave the new Dalek Paradigm with not only that but two TARDISes as well.

This was no longer about him against For, it was about the very survival of their species and the rest of time, because a break here would quickly spread throughout history.

With a grim slash of determination etched into his face, The Doctor heaved himself up against the wall and began to inch himself towards For and the distinct possibility that this time, he might not be able survive this. As another knife seemed to dig deep into his chest The Doctor was left with no illusions about one thing;

Time was running out.


	5. The End

**A/N: Hey everyone! :D In this chapter time is running out, literally closing in around them, but can The Doctor really stop For and even if he does... can even he stop the very laws of time? Lets find out! :D**

**Don't forget, if you like this story, favourite this, me or review :D**

His Darkest Hour

Chapter Five: The End

For dragged himself to his feet for the fourth time, his fists clenched, the ring that meant so much to him digging into his palm. A bead of sweat ran down his face, cold against the blood that pounded through his head.

What was going on? Was this The Doctor's doing? He slipped the ring back on his finger as the feeling passed and he again attempted to finish his work on Dalek central computer, mind buzzing.

After he'd watched The Doctor disappear from inside the artron charged room he'd told his new "allies" to destroy the Weak in the hope that it would keep them distracted for a while and then he had immediately headed here, to the computer core, to wire up the two time machines to the mainframe and put an end to this madness.

The core stood in the middle of a huge grey stone hall (a colour he was quickly becoming tired of), and The For could almost picture the Dalek taskforce that would have been needed to keep it running. He rolled his eyes, allowing himself a smile. "That's the problem with Daleks," he muttered, "no imagination." Of course, he hadn't just been able to come here unguarded, and outside stood three, rather powerful machines awaiting his inevitable betrayal. But what they didn't know was that he had everything he needed right in this room and that by the time they saw his betrayal comming, it would be far too late.

"Don't worry," he said to the open air, where she should have been standing if it hadn't been for his best friend. "I'll save you P," he pressed the ring gently to his lips and felt a tear glide down his cheek. He started work again, alone in the largest room of the huge Dalek complex, and poured his every emotion into his fingers, allowing them to dart and weave across the many different buttons, switches and wires in every attempt to get the final stage of his plan in motion, because when he did that she could be saved. She _would_ be saved. "No one hurts my wife."

"You're right," came a voice from behind him, that echoed through the huge space, seeming to fill it within seconds. Footsteps sounded, but they seemed uneven as though whomever was talking had a limp. "No one does, no one did and no one ever will." The For took a shaky breath, and turned around to face his old friend.

"But how did you-?" The For began, wondering both how he'd survived the artron room _and_ gotten past his bodyguards, but at that moment another strike of agony burst through him, and for a dreaded second he thought The Doctor had shot him point blank. But then he realized that he too was suffering from the same problem, collapsing to his knees before pulling himself back up. "What is that!" For cried across the hall, one hand clasping at his chest, his other behind his back, descreetly playing with his all important ring, sliding it to where it needed to be.

"Time is closing in," The Doctor explained, moving closer, his hands up to show he had nothing on him, no hint of a plan. "Our fight has gone too far and now we could face being locked here, while the real Time-Lock out there deteriorates, unleashing hell upon the universe."

The For seemed to stand frozen and then stepped back the lean against the computer behind him, his chest still aching. "So this is the end? They'll escape but we are stuck here? Never to see them?"

The Doctor seemed to mirror the pain in his eyes, as they glistened under the Skaronian light that filtered through the open roof. "Yes. I'm trapped away from you all, again. Still," he continued, as he collapsed next to his friend, "at least I'm not alone this time."

The For laughed, but it wasn't the laught that The Doctor had expected, kind and understanding, it was calous and angry. By the time that tone had registered The Doctor had figured it out he was stood up and was twirling _his_ screwdriver between his fingers. "You think I'd stay here, with the butcherer of our species when there is a fight to win, and my _family_ to protect?"

The Doctor stood up slowly, looking For in the eye. "For just _listen_, do you think that will really solve anything? The war is dead, everyone lost but if you attempt to restart it then countless more will die _countless_ times! I know what you're planning and if you _do_ attempt to hold the Time-Lock from closing it will tear the Universe apart at the seems!"

For seemed desperate, his eyes darting between The Doctor, the computer and the exit, not knowing which one he should dart towards. Deep down he knew The Doctor was right but- "what choice do I have! You want me to just accept she's dead and that I can't do _anything_? I can't accept that Doctor" he said, his voice wavering, but his mind was made up. "I won't!"

He raised the sonic and aimed at the ring hidden in the computer that, when given a signal, would initiate send it through out the Dalek network across Skaro, producing enough raw power to send the machine he'd melded together back into the Time War, taking him along with it.

Once there it would force the war to continue until one side emerged victorious, but The Doctor knew that wouldn't happen. Rassilion would administer the final victory, the end of time itself and For's plan, his wife would dissolve before his eyes.

_Of course! His eyes! He hasn't seen what I have!_ The Doctor knew what he had to do. "I'm sorry For but neither will I!" He lunged forwards, not at the screwdriver but For's temples, where he locked his fingers and used the physical connection combined with For's concentration on his ring to smash through the mental barriers and into his friends mind.

Images flooded forth as The Doctor showed him exactly what would unfold if the Time War were to rage again, and exactly what the Time-Lords would do if they got the chance, as they had almost managed it not that long ago.

The connection broke almost as soon as it had begun, but For had seen everything that he needed to. The sonic dropped from his limp hands as he stared in horror at his friend. "Why?"

The Doctor looked glumly back, his face stern. "War changed them," he muttered, his voice not layered with disgust like I'd expected it to be, it was just hollow, as though The Doctor often asked the same question about his once beloved race. "They lost sight of what they were fighting for, they only cared about winning, no matter the cost."

"And now they'll get their chance?" As if in reply, the two of them were sent crashing to the ground by the worst pain yet, that had them writhing and roaring and this time it didn't completely die away, it lingered like a cancer in their chests.

"Yes," The Doctor panted, "I guess they will." The two of them seemed to lie there for hours as they took in what that meant. For eventually spoke.

"I'm sorry Doctor," he said, his breath still coming in short gasps. "I'm sorry. If I'd only listened... this could have been avoided."

The Doctor laughed, but it was interrupted by vicious coughs. "I'm the one who should apologize," he groaned back, his fingers finally finding his beloved sonic which he clenched tightly as though it could do something to protect him. "I'll never forgive myself for that, I don't blame you for what you thought. I feel the same."

The two of them lay back, knowing that this was the end. They could both feel the very time around them seeming to squeeze them tighter, restricting their breathing and forcing their hearts to beat slower... slower. Their systems shutting down, and as all hope drifted away before their closed eyes, they succumbed to the dark.

**A/N:**** Oh no! Can this really be "The End!" Don't worry there is another chapter to come, so they maybe just stand a chance! :) Don't forget to review :D**

**P.S: Can I just say I do apologize if this three-parter is dragging a bit? I didn't mean it to but I do feel like I should have restricted myself slighty now that I look back at it :s Oops :D Don't worry I've learned my lesson, two-parters at the maximum from now on :P**


	6. A Final Farewell

**A/N****: Hey FanFiction! :D This _is_ the final chapter of "His Darkest Hour" so I really really hope you like it :D Please, if you do like it either favourite this, me or just review :D Enjoy! :)**

His Darkest Hour

Chapter Six: A Final Farewell

The two of them lay back, knowing that this was the end. They could both feel the very time around them seeming to squeeze them tighter, restricting their breathing and forcing their hearts to beat slower... slower. Their systems shutting down, and as all hope drifted away infront of their closed eyes, they succumbed to the dark.

That was when a familiar voice drifted into their conciousness. "Hey! Sleepyhead!"

The Doctor's eyes snapped open to find a sea of red waving before his face. For a moment he thought he was back on Gallifrey, watching the red stalks waft in the wind, but then a palid white face started to drift into view. "Pond?"

"And he's awake! Finally! Do you have any idea how heavy you are mister? You should consider losing a few pounds." The Doctor heaved himself up so he was sitting and gazed around at the so very welcome sight that greeted him.

He was back in his TARDIS, the countless lights around the walls seemed to glow happily, as though even she had been worried about what could have happened. Rory sat exaughsted in one of the chairs that surrounded the console. "She's right you know," he said when he noticed The Doctor had a woken. "You weren't exactly light."

"Oi!" The Doctor cried, standing up and staring incredulously at his two companions, "I'll have you know I do a _lot_ of running to keep this fit!" The two of them collapsed with laughter but The Doctor couldn't find what was so funny. "Did you do what I asked?"

Amy shot him a scornfull look, the kind that could stop a Cyberman dead in its tracks at 50 paces. "Well yes! What did you expect?"

The Doctor chuckled nervously. "Yes, that's exactly what I was expecting."

Earlier on the TARDIS found herself rematerializing again, but this time in an entirely different cupboard, in an entirely different place. The Doctor stepped out, went "Ah. Wrong turning." and returned inside. He disappeared moments later... but not before allowing the two humans that stood astounded infront of him into the TARDIS.

"You know," Amy said, as she watched The Doctor close the door behind them, "I did say in the _garden_."

"Yes I know but, close enough I think," he grinned running back to the console.

"Why do you need us?" Rory asked as he leant back against the railings that ringed the TARDIS console. "What about For?"

The Doctor paused, his smile faltering. "Things got... complicated. But that's why you're here," he said, attempting to regain his usual demeanour, but it just wouldn't remain. He looked away. "We're gonna land!" He said, the usual Doctoresque playfulness returning for now, "and then you'l wait for pre_cisely_10 minutes before following."

"10 minutes?"Amy asked, quizical. "But how will we know where to go, I know you. You could go anywhere in ten minutes!"

"Simple," The Doctor said, as the TARDIS started to warble and they left Leadworth behind, "Follow the trail."

Amy held up one of the many Jammie Dodgers they'd found. "Really?"

The Doctor grinned. "What? I thought they highlighted the importance of your task." He took the biscuit from Amy and bit into it, enjoying it for a moment before his face turned sour. "They taste better when not mixed with Crimenicide, I find. Where's For?"

"In his TARDIS," Rory said, taking the biscuit from him and looking at him like an exasperated father. "Did you know there was _red _grass growing in there!" The Doctor just nodded, but he was smiling at the one time he'd been in there, the old playground of their childhood that seemed so long ago.

The Doctor checked the scanner, and found that they had managed exactly what he'd asked, For's contraption had vanished, replaced by the TARDISes it had been made from. "You did positively charge mine didn't you?"

"Yeah and For's is negatively charged," Rory said, heading away from the control room and shouting back behind him. "Don't' worry Doctor we do know what we're doing you know, at least," he paused, "when you tell us how."

The Doctor grinned, switching the scanner so that it linked with the TARDIS that stood next to his. "For?" He asked rather tentatively, not sure what reaction he'd recieve from the other TARDIS.

He could see For's black leather jacket slung on a white stone nearby, but no sign of For. "One minute Doctor," his voice drifted from somewhere in the bedlam that was his TARDIS. "Just rearranging things."

"I can see that." For came into view, the remains of what looked like the invisibility matrix The Doctor had created slung over his back. "Hey that took me ages to make!"

"I told you I don't like the whole invisibility thing." For was grinning, but he seemed to know that this was their final farewell. The Doctor sighed, unable to put it off.

"You know you have to go back," he said, trying to stay positive. For did a better job of it, he always did.

"Oh I'm intending to," For said, dropping the cables upon the grass and grabbing his jacket. "I'm going to stop what you showed me from happening if it's the last thing I do."

The Doctor chuckled. "If anyone can For, it's you." He may have been laughing, but inside his gut churning. He hated lying to his friends, but no matter what he did it always seemed to be the only to keep them happy, keep them safe. "I wish I could go with you For, but we can't afford another cross-over."

"I know," For said, his eyes sad. "I'll see you sooner than you think. I won't leave you alone Doctor, I'll make it so you have the whole of your race with you. I promise." The Doctor sniffed, tears glistening in his eyes and he very nearly told him everything then; how it would be pointless going back, how even he couldn't change the outcome of the Time-War, how he just wanted him to stay, to have even the smallest part of his heart back.

But he didn't he just smiled, wiped his eyes and said, "Until then eh For?"

"Yeah, until then." And For engaged his TARDIS, vanishing before The Doctor's eyes and back into the Time-Lock that would close behind him. Rory returned to find The Doctor stood silently at the console, staring blankly at the scanner with an unsure Amy standing not too far away, looking awkwardly at The Doctor.

The Doctor flicked the switch that would send Skaro back after For, shutting the lock and ensuring none of this ever happened. Even the New Dalek Paradigm would never have come here, they would just return to wherever they were before this all began. Lucky them.

He looked at his two companions, both of whom seemed to be scared of what The Doctor might do next. He just smiled and sniffed again. "Why don't you two head down to the library? There a beautiful planet called Apllapachia that I want to show you at some point, I'm sure there's a guide book in there somewhere." Amy nodded and began to walk to the library, but as she stepped past her husband he didn't follow.

"Won't you be coming with us?"

The Doctor grinned at him. Rory, possibly the nicest Roman he'd ever met. "No, I've got some work to do here, For really did a number on my old girl... I'll catch you up later." Rory nodded, but Amy had to tug at his arm before he moved anywhere.

When they were safely out of sight The Doctor collapsed onto the nearest chair and held his head in his hands. I couldn't tell if he was crying but he sat there for a long time, not moving, just covering his face and when he finally did move, he walked straight past the way to the library and up the stairs into the bowels of the TARDIS.

Anything to avoid thinking about his best friend's face, and how he'd just sent him back to his death.

We disconnected from the interface and The Doctor cleared his throat as thought he'd was about to cry again. "Well," he said, swallowing hard, "there you go."

_There you go?_ I thought as I followed him out. _There you go what?_

"I think I have everything I need. I know what I need to do now." I turned around and leant on the wall opposite as he shut the door behind us.

"What _you_ need to do? I thought we were writing a warning to others, so they wouldn't use whatever it was that you found?" The Doctor just smiled a knowing smile and strode off in the direction of the main control room.

"Well that was the _original_ plan yes, but then things kind of went awry in my mind, as they often do, and what was once going to be a warning is now a command!" He seemed to be getting very excited as we descended the stairs to the console, him taking then two at a time before he darted underneath to start fiddling again.

"What do you mean Doctor?" I dropped into the chair when I reached the bottom of the staircase, realizing just how tired using the interface made me. Having only a slightly psychic mind when using a psychic interface will make you tired... _very_ tired.

"That's a good question!" I heard numerous clicks, clunks and whirrings as he continued to work. "Well I _could _mean the warning the Epthatyle gave me at the James' about how I _must_ go over the horizons of the Universe, or I could mean the very warning we were jsut writing to others, or maybe I mean the warning my mother used to give me about never swallowing Lego..." The Doctor paused. "Okay maybe not that one but the others are _definitely_ plausible."

He ran back upstairs, and gave me a look that just radiated excitement. It felt as though some of the old Doctor was starting to find itself, that he was finally getting over his "death" at Silencio Lake. "Basically Alex," he said breathlessly, "we're going over the horizon of the Universe!"

And then he pulled a lever, messed with the zig-zag plotter, activated the gravitic anomalyser and sent us hurtling where even he had never dared go before.

**A/N****: So? What did you think? :) Please let me know I really do want to get better at this whole writing thing :P Please Review basically! :D And don't worry this will continue, and end, with the final installment of this pentalogy; "Over The Horizon" but it will take me awhile to do it as I want to hear what you think of this first so I can improve, and I also want to make sure I know everything I need to before I write it :) But don't worry... I will start it as soon as I can I promise :) Thanks for reading :)**


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